RAT Creator Sentenced to 33 Months

Monday, February 26, 2018 @ 05:02 PM gHale

A Hot Springs, Arkansas man who pleaded guilty to creating the NanoCore RAT received 33 months in prison.

Taylor Huddleston, 27, received his sentence Friday for helping and assisting with computer intrusions through the development and marketing of malicious software, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said.

The Remote Access Trojan programs he created were used to steal sensitive data from victims, spy on them, and conduct other illegal intrusions.

In addition to the 33 months in prison, Huddleston must serve two years of supervised release following his sentence, DoJ officials said.

Accused of developing, marketing, and distributing two malware families, Huddleston pleaded guilty July 25 last year.

The first malicious program Huddleston developed is the NanoCore RAT, a backdoor that allows attackers to steal information from victim computers, including passwords, emails, instant messages, and other sensitive data. Used to infect and attempt to infect tens of thousands of systems, the RAT allows attackers to activate infected machines’ webcams to spy on victims.

NanoCore RAT was used in attacks targeting the finance departments of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, the U.S. and India, DoJ officials said.

Huddleston also admitted to creating Net Seal, licensing software that allowed him to distribute malware for co-conspirators for a fee.